1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle sun visors, and in particular vehicle sun visors having a visor body movable into and out of a storage space defined in a vehicle cabin ceiling.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 62-197422 teaches a known vehicle sun visor that has a visor body movable into and out of a storage space defined in a vehicle cabin ceiling. As shown in FIG. 20, which corresponds to FIG. 1 of the publication, a storage space 103 is defined between a roof panel 101 and a roof lining 102. A pair of channel-like guide rails 105 (only one guide rail is shown in FIG. 20) is mounted within the storage space 103 and extends in forward and rearward directions (left and right directions as viewed in FIG. 20). A pair of rollers 115 (only one roller is shown in FIG. 20) is mounted to the rear upper end of a support member 110 and is respectively movable along the guide rails 105. A visor body 130 is pivotally mounted to a front end of the support member 110 via a horizontal shaft 120.
With this configuration, in order to use the visor body 130 for shielding sunlight, the operator may withdraw the visor body 130 together with the support member 110 from the storage space 103 to a withdrawing stroke end as the rollers 115 move along the guide rails 105. The operator may then pivot the visor body 130 downward about the horizontal shaft 120. Consequently, the visor body 130 may be set to a desired light-shielding position opposing a windshield (hereinafter called the “front light-shielding position”). The pivotal range of the visor body 130 is limited by the front end 102a of the roof lining 102.
However, the known vehicle sun visor still has the following operability problems:    (1) The sun visor is not configured to enable the positioning of the visor body 130 from a front light-shielding position to a side light-shielding position, a position where the visor body 130 opposes a side glass of the vehicle.    (2) During the movement of the visor body 130, the lower surfaces of the rollers 115 frictionally contact with the guide rails 105, producing opposing forces against the movement of the visor body 130 or causing rattling of the support member 110 or the visor body 130.    (3) The visor body 130 in the front light-shielding position may easily pivot away from the set position, for example, due to vibrations applied to the visor body 130 during the operation of the vehicle. Thus, the visor body 130 may pivot rearward by a distance corresponding to a space between the visor body 130 and the front end 102a of the roof lining 102 and may then move forward by the force of gravity or momentum. In some cases, such rearward and forward movement may be repeated.